Belt for belt conveyers



Nav. 22, 1949 P. J. MATHIEU BELT FOR BELT CONYEYERS Filed March 15, 1946* 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 22, 1949 P. J. MATHIEU BELT FOR BELT. CONYEYERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 'March 15, 194e Nov. 22, 1949 P, J, MATHIEU 2,488,872

BELT FOR BELT GONYEYERS Filed March 15, 1946 v s sheets-sheet s Patented Nov. 22, 1949 UNITED PATENT OFFICE implication' 'March 15, 1946, Scl'ial'lNo.r 654,750

"nfFrance May 16, 1945 .adminisil Belts used Vnowadays rior transporf-.tation generally constituted iby ithe .-Sllperpositqn of plurality of canvas plies :glued together fand .embedded inside ea .rrubber-like material which protects them-.:against .moisture iandgdamage dile :to ;the :fall ithereon of :thermaterialwhihzs heilig transported These belts :are Yexecutedinponsiderableflens-tbs :in accordance .with :rthe gconditiens `of mounting Acorresponding to tithe idered arppleatiunlheledf. -Zwhic-hfleads to:arnumbenofzdrawbacks.

a :matter 'fof fact, itheabelts ifllow liften a `diiiicult path; the .irepairs to be :operated :tand the vvassembling=i ;-the pants .ato be interconnected .zarealsmdiilicult fzGreat di-iiiculties'areimetzwth .in zthe.;mountingfand :dismounting ofazthe .bel-tianrl whenever .it .is desired ito :modif-y their f-glength.

'.The v.invention .fhas Afor :its mbject a lconveyor belt adapted toa-remore suc-ligdrawbacks.

:This belt .is chiefly rconstitutedzbyselemcnts of .small ulength l.vrliichanay formsstandard elements and which are assembled together after thermen- .ner .of the :links of .fa :scha-in.

Eachfelementiisconstituted la) .':By :'.aiparitxorming .the v.fdrce ftransrriitting member of the strap'andatransniittingathe :traetional stress.

(b) By an upper wearsresstngllayer,

v(c) B yla luwenforce-itransmittine member protecting layer.

The force .transmittingamember may be con- L.stituted .by .threads or cables made ...of .natural textile material such as cotton,.si1k .brine like, of articial textile material such as rayon, brannewnylon Aand the'likeffer fe'lse of metal wire of.steel, brass and the like, or again tof ribbons..orplaits made ofifanynfrthe aboveimen- 'tioned materials.

.In the accompanying drawingsrhas benihpwn '.-by -fway otgexample, a form of-.executiomaccord- :ing totheinvention.

fFig. Lis-a plan view of saidfbelt in theeaSxof the force transmitting member,being constituted by a cable.

Figs-2 is a cross-sectionrthereof corresponding zito .the fleft handpart .dif @-Eis. gleand illustrating eithe zone -Y of the .iointibetweenfitwp adiaeentrelements, the joint being opened.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View through the right hand side of Fig. 1 showing the joint between two adjacent elements.

Figs. 4 and 5 are a plan and a cross-sectional view of a modication of said form of execution according to which the force transmitting member is constituted by a metallic ribbon.

lzone assembly.

lI n the form A.of executionillustratedinjFigs. -,1 ,to .3 :the fierce transmitting :member is .constituted by a longitudinal :Cable 1I iolded atfeach endpf 10 the elements into zig-zag formation and the strands .of which :are interconnected :through :transversal cables 2.. The ycable il atwits Vfolded @ends passes throughwbrass hooks 3 :closed .by-aa small bin Ali acting as azrivet. -T/he continlleus .x .table .l .passing successively from a ihoQk :at .one

end of the element tofa hook at :the :other iend forms with the interwoven' transversal .cablesfthe force transmitting member Yof the elements fthe filengthqf .which maygbe iorainstancerof the .order :corpi 1.50 yin.

l.The metallicfcableszare iii-"st: rendered .adherent through any known means so.ga s to pr.ovide for eaprfsctadhershce .Qfthe rubbenonitofthe metal- ;'zlfhis ,torce transmitting member arranged he- .25 tween two sheets of rubber of suitable -,thi ckness `-.is 1.the,nplaced in agmold Witha lViewftofmolding .fsaidfelement Thef.h00ks Setthefendsof therbeltfelemeht are embedded in the rubber teeth 5 formedet the -iffnd of :the molded elements 4and separated by vlziiollowportions adapted :.-to .receive the rubber :teeth orne-:the adjacentbelt element.

For -fassembline the elements, there :rrovided a pivot constituted for instance b yame tal fmblauie :Gengaging theghooks embedded illithe :rubber teeth or projections ,ftting V.inside one another from ,One-elementtO the other., :fthefinside of said hooks remaining open .and unoby.Structedthroughout,the .width of jtheteeth. A

@40 S.top.at;.each endfof theblade prevents itslateral shifting In the form of execution illustrated-in Figs. :4 -andr'ftheiorcetransmitting member is constigtutedfby afcontinuous Vmetal strip -1 folded, at V,each

end so as to assume a zigzag formation; the loops .formed by .its folded .ends ,themselves ,constitute @hooks ycortesiaending to the above @mentioned `ghyzaoks .3 rand .f areembedded in the samefgwmanner in the rubber teeth projections formed in the molding at the terminal edges of the belt eleand molds to be used are small sized. It is thus,

3 possible to mold the belt in its transversally incurved shape as illustrated in particular in Figs. 6 and 7, which will ensure a better behavior of the conveyor.

It may be of advantage to increase the transversal curvature and to provide a large sloping angle for the raising rollers. The output of the conveyor will be thus considerably increased.

It is also possible to give the mold a shape such that the thickness of the belt element may be considerable in its central portion (Fig. 6) and decreases then from said central portion towards the edges. Thus the rubber layer 8 is very large say three times thicker than in the case of a normal belt at its center, i. e. at the very points where the wear is the greatest. The life of the belt will thereby be much longer.

The longitudinal force transmitting member has a resistance which is calculated to provide for the most severe conditions of use and it allows operation of the belt in any case of application and consequently the elements which all are of identical length are interchangeable.

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of a belt according to the invention, molded into incurved shape.

Fig. 8 is a view of the belt seen from above; only the separation line 9-9a is apparent; Fig. 9 on the contrary shows the belt seen from below with the teeth of the two elements engaging one another.

By reason of the short length of the belt element, and consequently of the comparatively small size of the mold used for its execution, it is possible to reinforce the edges by a complementary rubber thickness which renders the elements less liable to be rapidly Worn.

The advantages of the belt according to the invention are as follows:

(a) In case of an accident, the belt element which has been damaged may be replaced in a few minutes by a new element; the belt is always in perfect condition.

(b) No special care is required for assembling the elements which enter automatically into their alined position.

(c) The positioning of the belt is very easy, and no diiculty appears in the case where it is necessary to change a portion of the length of the conveyor.

(d) The elements, all of constant length, are interchangeable. As the user has in store spare elements, he may mount them on conveyors without taking into account the conditions of operation.

(e) The output of the conveyor is much larger for a belt of given width through the fact that the cross-section has a shape which is very incurved in the molding.

(f) The life of the belt is much longer by reason of the considerable thickness of rubber in its center and of the excellent distribution of the wearing layer.

(g) The belt may be obtained in mass production by the maker; no delay in the shipping of spare parts need be asked for.

(h) The rollers carrying the return strand are convex so that the belt may retain its incurved shape in said strand and prevent any transported products or extraneous bodies from resting thereon with the risk of engaging the gap between the drums and the belt and of damaging the latter; this reduces considerably the risk of damage, therefore eliminating the necessity of providing conventional sideA bars.

In ordinary usage the belt does not stretch.

However, if in some exceptional cases the belt does stretch this stretching can be readily remedied by removing one of the elements.

The characteristic features of the invention which provide a certain advantage of the belt conveyors over the extant apparatuses are ob- Viously applicable to all similar belts such as elevator belts and the like.

What is claimed is:

1. A conveyor belt comprising an endless succession of interchangeable elements of comparatively small length each including a force transmitting member embedded in a rubber envelope, each force transmitting member comprising a metallic continuous cable several times folded so as to form parallel longitudinal portions with loops at the end of the element and transverse bracing double wires intermeshed across said portions and assembling means consisting of hook shaped parts engaging the loops, rubber teeth provided at the ends of the envelope of each belt element in the moulding thereof and inside which the corresponding hook shaped parts are embedded while leaving the inner opening thereof open throughout the width of the teeth, the teeth at the cooperating ends of two adjacent belt elements being in an interengaging relationship and a removable transverse connecting blade adapted to engage the hook shaped parts at the ends of two adjacent force transmitting members, said parts being embedded in the corresponding teeth of the cooperating belt elements.

2. A conveyor belt as defined in and by claim 1, wherein each element is transversely convex in shape. Y

3. A conveyor belt as dened in and by claim 1, wherein each element is thicker throughout the longitudinal extent of its central portion than it is at its-respective side edges.

SUZANNE BERTHB MATHIEU,

BORN LIZAMLBARD, Widow of Pierre Jules Mathieu, Deceased.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNrrED STATES PA'I'ENTs Number Name Date 344,563 Channel] June 29, 1886 945,616 Schwartz Jan. 4, 1910 989,952 Dodge Apr. 18, 1911 1,211,350 Price Jan. 2, 1917 1,354,553 Harter Oct. 5, 1920 1,370,379 Straub Mar. 1, 1921 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 129,780 Great Britain July 14, 1919 308,082 Great Britain Mar. 21, 1929 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,488,872

PIERRE JULES MATHIEU, DECEASED It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

In the heading to the printed specification, line 9, foreign filing date, for May 16, 1945 read March 16', 1.945; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oce.

Signed and sealed this 11th day of April, A. D. 1950.

November 22, 1949 THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

